Research Summary
Research Summary
Relational Motivation & Need Expectations
Description
My current research in this area explores the ways in which the nature of relational interactions at work facilitate, or supress, important individual and organizational outcomes such as motivation, engagement and personal well-being. Much of my work in this domain emanates from a theory of relational need expectations, suggesting that employee engagement varies as a function of their expectations of need fulfillment at work. Expectations of belongingness and authentic self-expression in the workplace serve as a double-edged sword: these heightened expectations can, if validated through interpersonal interactions at work, yield extremely positive levels of work engagement. But heightened expectations, if invalidated through intepersonal experiences, can yield particularly extreme levels of disengagement.
My empirical work in this domain leverages field experiments and longitudinal surveys showing, for example, that interpersonal interactions at work that facilitate an enhanced sense of belongingness can, in routine and low-significance jobs (such as fruit harvesting), yield heightened motivation, and increase productivity and performance.
My empirical work in this domain leverages field experiments and longitudinal surveys showing, for example, that interpersonal interactions at work that facilitate an enhanced sense of belongingness can, in routine and low-significance jobs (such as fruit harvesting), yield heightened motivation, and increase productivity and performance.